Manchester United enjoyed another successful night in the Europa League with a spot in the final looking more than likely after how the semi-final first leg went.
Ruben Amorim will have been the happiest man in Bilbao on Thursday night as he watched Manchester United hand themselves a straightforward second leg at Old Trafford next week.
An eventful first half of the game saw United lead 3-0 at the break, with Athletic Club down to 10 men. It was just a 15-minute spell, but it will likely prove to have been catastrophic for their hopes of winning the Europa League in their home stadium, San Mames.
Casemiro opened the scoring after Harry Maguire turned into a winger on the right side for United, beating the defender and putting in an excellent cross.
The tie was then all but wrapped up by Bruno Fernandes, who scored twice in quick succession to potentially lead his United side to a second Europa League final during his time at the club.
There were several standout performances for United, but there is just one player who has been lauded by Alejandro Garnacho.
Alejandro Garnacho praises Manuel Ugarte performance against Athletic Club
It was one of the best performances that United have put in all season long, and right at the centre of this display was the brilliant midfield pairing of Casemiro and Manuel Ugarte.
Of the two, Casemiro will get the majority of plaudits, but Ugarte also deserves his flowers, which his teammate Garnacho has now done.
Taking to his Instagram story, Garnacho posted a selfie of himself with Ugarte after the game, and he captioned the image, “What a player”, followed by two ‘A’ emojis to signal the two assists which Ugarte provided on the night.
Garnacho also revealed that the duo were getting anti-doping tests done, which is the reason they were sitting together in what didn’t look like the dressing room.
Praise for Ugarte is absolutely warranted, as he bounced back from a poor start in the game, losing the ball a handful of times, to completely dominate the fourth-placed La Liga side.
Manuel Ugarte is growing into the Manchester United shirt
Players have rarely been written off as quickly as Ugarte was by some following his arrival from PSG last summer. The 24-year-old is widely seen of the best number sixes in world football, yet for some, he was destined to fail.
Upon joining, Erik ten Hag didn’t seem completely convinced by the addition as he used the Uruguayan sparingly over the opening few months before he became a regular under Amorim.
Since then, there have been highs and lows for Ugarte; however when considering he has been trying to settle into a team in turmoil, the season he has had is no surprise.
There have been more than enough positive signs that Ugarte had plenty to offer at United, and he will only improve as Amorim’s United becomes better drilled and organised.
This was clear on Thursday, as he was a standout in arguably the most controlled and dominant performance seen under Amorim to date.
Plenty more to come, but the signs are that Garnacho is spot on with his assessment.
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